The first votes in Libya’s elections were cast in Dubai on Tuesday as expatriates turned out to select a national assembly less than a year after the collapse of the Gaddafi regime.
The polling station in the Libyan consulate in Dubai opened at 9am local time with other locations in Jordan, Germany, the UK, the US and Canada scheduled to open their doors every day until July 7, when the elections are set to be held in Libya itself.
Burhaneddin Muntasser, regional manager for an Swiss-based IT company who lived through the war in Tripoli, was overcome with emotion after casting his vote.
“I want a Muslim country, with a free economy, where the Libyan citizens come first,” said the 48-year-old, tears streaming down his face. “I am hopeful of a good future for Libya, but I am not 100 per cent confident.”
The 200-member national assembly will select a prime minister, draft laws and appoint a committee to write a new constitution.
A steady stream from the 3,000 Libyan residents of the United Arab Emirates were ushered through an air-conditioned tent at the consulate for their first elections in half a century, leaving with a purple ink print on their index fingers to prove they had already voted.
Aref al-Nayed, the outgoing Libyan ambassador to the UAE, said the historic day was imbued with a sense of “sad joy.”
“There is joy at reaching this stage in the long struggle of the Libyan people, but sadness from the great sacrifices of the people who made this possible,” he said.
Mr Nayed, who will return to the private sector after representing Libya in the UAE since the revolution that overthrew Colonel Muammer al-Gaddafi last autumn, said he was optimistic that the elections would install a representative government and produce a constitution reflecting the desires of all Libyans.
Fears have grown that the elections could be affected by outbreaks of violence as armed militias that helped ousted the former regime compete for power.
On Sunday, armed groups demanding more autonomy for the east burned election materials and damaged computers in the eastern capital of Benghazi. But Mr Nayed said the following day the people of Benghazi had taken to the streets to pledge their support for the electoral process.
“This is a self correcting revolution, I am always assured by the ability of the Libyan people to protect and correct the situation,” he said.
Awwab Abdul, a 23-year-old oil trader, was born in the US and lived in Dubai for 13 years, but, despite only living briefly in Libya, he was one of the first to turn out to vote at 9am.
“Over the next year, Libya will emerge as a special new capital of the world,” he said. “For us, freedom is the most important thing.”
Source: Financial Times
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